Another Strawman

E. J. Dionne demolishes another straw man, stating that Republicans don't have a monopoly on "family values." Of course, nobody would be so stupid as to claim that they do, or that all Republicans live up to their ideals. But they don't accept excuses and sophistries the way the Democrats do. They would never settle for anything less than resignation for behavior like Clinton's, Studds' and others. The arguments made to enable Democrats to cling to power are like a list of fallacies. The ones that annoyed me most during the Monica scandal were the "private behavior," "just sex, just a man," and "you're not being bipartisan" arguments.

I think that Democrats really feel the moral differences, and respond to them as if Republicans were claiming that their behavior is totally pure. This is a puerile view of religion. Most religious people understand that humans are sinful and that religion is a way of encouraging them to repent and sin no more and offering them redemption. Yes, many religious people are judgmental, but not so much of ordinary sinners as of leaders who are expected to set examples. They are forgiving of the penitent, but realize that forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean you don't have to live with the consequences of your actions. They know that God forgives the penitent, not sins clung to, rationalized and hidden from. His healing comes from the admission of sin, undergoing the pain of that admission and not repeating the sin, in other words, growth and improvement. Of course, not all Republicans are religious. An awful lot of libertarian Republicans reject religion. Barry Goldwater certainly wasn't what people think of as religious. He hated what he saw as holier-than-thou attitudes and religious values intruding into political ones.

Advocates of traditional morality aren't necessarily motivated by a desire to condemn others. I believe in the so-called "family values" because they do a better job of creating and preserving a healthy society, by instilling responsibility, respect for law and others' rights, a work ethic and a sense of personal honor that is the basis for honesty. I don't believe in "victimless crimes" except for someone who takes nothing from society and contributes nothing to it, and such people are pretty hard to find. Even the Unabomer had to go to town occasionally.